Tag Archives: Ethical investment

Business

FRA welcomes Timber investment article from Pictet-Timber head

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FRA is welcoming an article by Pictet-Timber fund co-manager Gabriel Micheli in Investment Week, giving tips to anyone considering investing in timber.

Bainbridge Island, WA, May 02, 2012 – Forestry Research Associates (FRA) is welcoming an article by Pictet-Timber fund co-manager Gabriel Micheli in Investment Week, giving tips to anyone considering investing in timber.

Mr Micheli is keen to point out the potential returns that can come about as a result of opting for timber investments, which will be underpinned by real growing demand for timber products in emerging economies such as China and India.

He said that wise investors are “waking up” to the environmental “megatrends” in the market. These include the realisation that growing forests can provide communities with income as they provide potential for carbon trading arrangements. As a result of these arrangements, developing countries can make money from developed nations through carbon trading. This is possible because trees absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the air and therefore provide one of the most cost-effective means of reducing carbon emissions.

Mr Micheli added that investors are regularly seeing their returns from timber investment exceeding returns on stocks and shares investments. He points out that between 1990 and 2011 the NCREIF Timberland index returned 10.7 per cent each year. He claims that this shows that timber has a “key role” to play in any portfolio that is diversified against risk.

He claims that the demand for timber is coming from the nations that are desperate to get their hands on raw materials to continue their housing and infrastructure developments. At the same time, supply is not keeping up with the pace, which will drive prices up.

“Along with Mr Micheli, we are confident that timber prices will rise along with demand in the coming few years,” stated Peter Collins, the analysis partner at FRA, a research and analysis consultancy specialising in forestry investment.

He added, “Investing in sustainable timber growth, through firms such as Greenwood Management and Pictet-timber fund can provide careful investors with the chance to make a health return form an ethical investment –something that is not that easy to come by.”

Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394
info@forestry-research.com
http://www.forestry-research.com

Business

Huffington Post Blog advocates Impact investment says AAA

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Alternative investment advocacy group AAA says that a recent blog in the Huffington Post offers a great endorsement of impact investing.

Boston, MA, February 23, 2012 – Alternative investment advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), says that a recent blog in the Huffington Post offers a great endorsement of impact investing.

It explains how impact investment funds have an ethos of “doing good while doing well”, which highlights the fact that making profits and choosing ethical investments are not mutually exclusive.

The Huffington post blog explains that impact investing combines investment in projects that contribute to social and environmental good, and investing for maximum risk-adjusted returns. Although this is a somewhat unusual combination, it often works and is increasing in popularity among those who want to make a difference while making money.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, said, “It’s really quite unbelievable that this kind of investment option is only just taking off.

“The model is quite simple, those with money to invest help those without money to make money by providing funding and the profits are then shared.”

Examples include housing projects, forestry projects, small loans for small businesses and farm investments. Most of these funds are setup in developing countries and most investors come from developed countries.

The level of return on impact investment funds differs dramatically but many investors put the social impact of a fund ahead of financial gains, in a refreshing turnaround to the norm.

“It’s not just small-time investors that are getting into impact investing,” said Mr Johnson. “Many of the world’s richest philanthropists are ploughing their money into socially and environmentally responsible projects.” An example is the $3 billion Rockerfeller Foundation. Bill Clinton is also a keen advocate of impact investment.

AAA supports ethical investment in many different forms. It advocates investing in environmentally friendly projects, such as sustainable forestry, through schemes like the teak, eucalyptus and other non-native tree plantations run by Greenwood Management in Brazil. “These projects offer a tangible option for smaller-scale investor,” added Johnson.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

Ethical investment survey welcomed as ‘Great tool’ by AAA

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Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has commented on the latest survey from IFA Barchester Green Investment, which intends to find the best and worst ethical investments in the UK.

Boston, MA, January 10, 2012 – Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has commented on the latest survey from IFA Barchester Green Investment, which intends to find the best and worst ethical investments in the UK.

“Barchester’s Heroes and Villains survey is a great tool for anyone looking to make an ethical investment in 2012,” commented AAA’s Anthony Johnson. The analysts for the alternative investment advocacy and research group, added, “Here at AAA, we believe that it is possible to make money while making a positive impact on social and environmental issues, particularly by investing in projects working in developing countries.”

The Barchester survey looks to whether certain funds within the ethical and environmental sector are living up to their long-term goals and generating return for investors. The top-ranked fund for 2011 was the Aviva Sustainable Future Managed Fund, which has £310 million of assets under management at the moment.

Other funds to make the Heroes list included the Kames Ethical Equity Fund, Henderson Industries of the Future and the Cheviot Climate Assets. There has been a major increase in interest in ethical funds in recent years, thanks to a general move towards alternatives in response to volatility within the equity markets.

“When people are looking for an alternative fund, they are often drawn towards ethical options as they can also be some of the most profitable for investors,” added Mr Johnson.

AAA supports a range of impact investing options, as well as non-fund based investments, like direct forestry investment through firms like Greenwood Management. This option involves buying up sections of plantation land in countries like Brazil and Canada and making profits as the trees grow and are sold off for timber. The whole process is sustainable and both encourages and demonstrates managed forestry techniques in countries that need to protect their forestry industries for generations to come.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com